Home › Publications › Publication: Newsletter articles ›

Foreign investment

The demand for independence

Down to Earth No 43, November 1999


The push for an independent West Papua is gaining strength: mass protests met the government's decision to split the territory into three provinces and the vote in East Timor fuelled demands for independence.

West Papua

Down to Earth Special Issue, October 1999

The Indigenous Peoples' Congress was held only a few weeks after one hundred West Papuan representatives came to Jakarta as part of a long-awaited 'National Dialogue' to discuss the future of their homeland. President Habibie offered nothing. So it was not surprising that the Congress' Papuan contingent was in no mood for compromise. They were united in their message: 'Merdeka' - independence.

INCO IN INDONESIA: the destruction and the dilemmas

Down to Earth No. 42, August 1999

A new DTE report prepared for Down to Earth by Roger Moody, Nostromo Research, May 1999

Dayaks charged in oil palm dispute

Down to Earth No. 42, August 1999

A long-running land dispute between oil palm plantation company PT London Sumatra and indigenous Dayak landowners has resulted in large-scale military and police repression in East Kalimantan.

Sumatra pulp plant protestors fight on

Down to Earth No. 42 1999

Construction of the US$1 billion PT Tanjung Enim Lestari (PT TEL) paper pulp plant in Muara Enim, South Sumatra, is nearly complete. Hundreds of contract workers will be laid off soon. Most of the equipment, from Scandinavian, Canadian and German companies backed by export credit agreements from their governments, has been installed. Production is expected to start in October. The plant's capacity is 450,000 tonnes of pulp per year.

East Timor: the opportunity for a sustainable future

Down to Earth No. 42, August 1999

East Timor's forests and agricultural lands have suffered extensive damage during the Indonesian occupation. Restoring the environment and setting the country on a development path that is economically viable, socially just and environmentally sustainable will be one of the many formidable challenges facing the government of an independent East Timor.

An alternative development strategy

Down to Earth No. 41, May 1999

Farmers, workers, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, NGOs, students and academics are coming together to formulate people-centred, environmentally sound development strategies to replace the obsolete, bankrupt and abusive money-centred practices of the Suharto era.